CH.51 14-3. The Black Heart of a Knight
“Enough. You think too much, boy.”
Sweating profusely as I strained against the embedded sword, I stopped when the Heavenly Demon spoke, her tone thick with exasperation. What was I doing wrong? How could I possibly move this thing?
“Come here, boy.”
“Yes, Heavenly Demon.”
Abandoning my futile efforts, I walked toward where she gestured, the soft crunch of grass underfoot filling the silence of the forest.
“Sit here.”
I settled onto the grass, adopting a meditative posture. Closing my eyes, I focused on my breathing, releasing the tension in my body. Slowly, my racing thoughts began to quiet.
“Boy, why did you pick up the sword in the first place?”
“…To bring happiness to those who are suffering,” I replied.
I’d crossed countless life-threatening situations, enduring pain and hardship with gritted teeth. But why was she asking this now?
“A swordsman’s reason for wielding a blade is crucial. Is that truly why?”
“Yes. I needed nothing else.”
I spoke calmly. The Nameless Saintess’s happiness was all I cared about. Returning to the academy to progress through her route was my top priority.
“For someone who claims to need nothing else, you’re quite greedy, boy.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Be more honest with yourself. Haven’t you desired something more?”
Though her expression was hidden from my closed eyes, her probing tone lingered in my ears, nudging me to dig deeper.
“Something more, huh…”
I bit my lower lip. I’d helped Kainel and Ariel escape, healed Mardol, saved Nex and Charitines…
What was missing? I only did what was necessary to fulfill the conditions for the Saintess route.
“…”
“Are you sure ‘nothing else’ mattered to you?”
Ah. No, that wasn’t entirely true. From the start, I’d avoided the Crown Prince’s route. If my intentions had been purely altruistic, I wouldn’t have done that.
Even if the Saintess ended up in a harem, as long as she survived, it would’ve been enough. But deep down, I had wanted more.
“…I think I might’ve loved her too much,” I finally admitted.
What flashed before my eyes at death’s edge weren’t memories of my tragic life but vivid moments of her. Those thoughts had stayed with me, compelling me to answer truthfully.
“So, in the end, it was love that drove you to pick up the sword. Why make excuses or run from it?”
“…Because I’m not worthy.”
The scars on my burned face invited scorn. If I grew closer to her, she would undoubtedly face ridicule. Even meeting her gaze through my helmet had its limits.
“Your thoughts are too self-centered, boy.”
“My life experience tells me otherwise. If she suffers because of me…”
This story’s true protagonist was Lupus Gransia. The developers surely intended for him to end up with the Saintess. She would likely be happy that way.
“Khehehehe! Boy, if Dennis heard you, he’d lose his temper.”
“Professor Dennis?”
Startled, I turned toward her voice. Was he that kind of character? I’d never imagined Dennis losing his temper with a player before.
“Yes, Dennis… That man told me love requires no qualifications.”
As I meditated, the Heavenly Demon shared a brief tale from her past—a fleeting springtime story she had believed would never come again.
***
Dennis, the Apex of Water Magic
One of the Ten Greats, Dennis was known as the master of water magic. Yet he wasn’t called a “mage” in the game. Why?
Ariel was referred to as the Magician of Blazing Flame, so why not him?
Because Dennis’s actual profession was something entirely different.
He was a Hunter, summoned to this world from an apocalyptic Seoul plagued by gates and monsters. He was a mundane human man from a world much like mine—a Korean from another universe.
Originally an F-rank hunter, Dennis had no opportunities to develop his talent for magic in a mana-starved world. His striking blue hair and eyes set him apart when he arrived here.
“Ha! What a ragtag group. A wolf-eared lumberjack, a dwarf, a demon… What’s this, a three-legged crow? A child soldier? Have you all lost your minds?”
“That’s the Phoenix of House Aureus, commoner. How dare you…”
“Above my skies, rank and class mean nothing. Foolish yellow-haired brat.”
When Baek Mok-ryun first saw the motley crew assembled to oppose the Hero’s Order, she could hardly contain her disbelief.
“What use is a Shadow Slash or whatever? That’s not the pinnacle of martial arts.”
“Hahaha! Bold words from a lizard, not even a proper dragon!”
“A swordsman of the West, are you? Shall we see what you’re made of?”
Faced with opponents far stronger than they, even the gods had sought help from other worlds, resulting in these laughable recruits.
“Stop it, all of you. This is exactly what the Demon Lords want.”
“Silence, child soldier. Who asked for your opinion?”
“I turned 20 yesterday, thank you very much.”
Whenever infighting erupted among the Ten Greats, Dennis became the mediator, quelling disputes and calming tensions. Despite being the youngest, his influence was undeniable.
“If you can’t best a child, perhaps you should hold your tongue,” Dennis remarked, his tone cutting.
“I was holding back, nothing more,” Baek Mok-ryun replied.
Though she could’ve easily defeated him, she often let him win, out of sympathy for the boy thrust into the role of a hero.
“Baek Mok-ryun! Watch out!”
“That a child would worry about me… How absurd.”
“What would you have done without me? Here, I’ve cast a protective spell for you.”
Whether he was saving her or she was saving him, the two constantly relied on one another, sharing their backs as they crossed countless battlefields.
Despite the absurd clash of wuxia and modernity, their partnership flourished.
“Child soldier, why is it you’re not afraid of me?”
“People these days don’t fear things like you anymore, Heavenly Demon.”
“Mocking me, are you? You’ve got guts.”
She didn’t dislike the way he brought laughter and warmth into her life. For a being who had once known only fear and reverence from others, those days were precious.
“…”
“It wasn’t your fault, child soldier.”
“I want to go home,” he had said.
The Demon Lord I killed.
Dennis valued life above all else, and fighting against the Hero’s Order had shaken him more than anything. In contrast, Baek Mok-ryun had lived her life as the Heavenly Demon and was more accustomed to such struggles.
“If that was truly the case, he wouldn’t have spouted such madness while taking lives. Those are the words of a lunatic; pay them no mind.”
“But… what if this never ends?”
She had marveled at the man’s compassion, his ability to feel sympathy even for those who tried to kill him. Slowly, her perspective began to shift.
“Not killing anyone today, I see? You just broke their Holy Sword?”
“Hmm? The power gap was too large for killing to be necessary.”
“Thank you, Heavenly Demon.”